The Affordable Care Act is the broadest and most in depth overhaul of the country’s healthcare system since the inclusion of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, but it is being said that those changes are preventing APRN’s and, in fact, nurses of all levels, from practicing their skills to the fullest of their education and ability (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011). APRN’s, through their additional education, are able to assess patients, diagnose their conditions, manage patient problems, offer social work services and assistance, order tests, and prescribe certain classes of medications (NCSBN, 2013), but as a result of the new changes to healthcare they are being limited in what they are able to do, and it is almost as though the system sees that additional education, and those additional certifications received by APRNs as useless or irrelevant.
In spite of this, steps are being taken to advocate the increasing use of APRNs, expanding the scope of practice for APRNs in some states and working to allow them to practice in other states where they are currently prevented from using their knowledge and education to its fullest extent (Health Affairs, 2012). If these advocacy groups are heard, and if the changes start to be pushed through for APRNs, it is possible that the healthcare system within the United States would be able to reap untold benefits, and the looming healthcare crisis, wherein there will soon not be enough primary care physicians to treat the increasing number of elderly within the country, would be mitigated, at least for a time, as new doctors work to complete school in order to further mitigate the issue.
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"Opinions on the New Health Care Reform and the Role of the APRN".
I predict that if the advocacy groups are able to do what they are attempting, it will be a great day for Americans and for the healthcare industry; however I do not hold out much hope that they will be able to do so with ease, and I believe that they will most likely be unable to do so before this crisis hits, if only in light of all of the issues being faced by the ACA at this time.
- Health Affairs. (2012, October 25). Nurse practitioners and primary care. Retrieved from http://www.healthaffairs.org/
- Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2011, January 26). The future of nursing: Focus on scope of practice. Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/
- NCSBN. (2013). Aprns in the u.s.. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org
